Saturday, 16 October 2010

If you've never heard of this band...have a look at the line-up:
Martin Tamburovich vocals
D. Boon guitar
Mike Watt bass, back-ups
George Hurley drums
..sound familiar? They should do as 3/4 became THE MINUTEMEN, one of the greatest bands punk has ever produced, after the short-lived THE REACTIONARIES ceased to exist. Side A of this great (!!) lp has the famous, much traded, practice tape that was "recorded in San Pedro, CA, at the shed in back of George’s house on 17th Street, across the street from San Pedro High School – January 1979". Songs included are:
1. 1979
2. THE BIG LIE
3. CHEAP FALSE TEETH
4. VIDEO MADONNA
5. MY HEROES
6. GETTING EXISTENTIAL ON
THE BEACH
7. INNUENDO
8. GOD AND COUNTRY
9. BRIGATE ROSSE
10. TONY GETS WASTED IN PEDROIt's all been re-mastered and sounds great. If you like THE MINUTEMEN, I won't need to tell you but...just in case....snap this up!When I read about side B before ordering in copies I figured I wouldn't really bother playing it: "Bonus Side features 10 Reactionaries songs from Document Side A covered by 38 members of different San Pedro affiliated bands, both past and present.".....HOWEVER...having just done so, it is actually really really great as well. All bands are good and their versions of the songs really work and add something. All in all a great document from a legendary band often heard about, but not often yet properly 'heard'...untill now!One small comment about the high price. This is the result of me being hit with a £23 customs charge on this order....so thank the fucking border patrol!

HARDCORE/PUNK at the OCCII - DVD - £10 - SOLD OUTA fund-raiser for the OCCII, a truly great autonomous DIY space in Amsterdam! This is what they are about: "...the OCCII exists thanks to the hard, continuous, work of the squatter community and all it's, freedom loving, non conformist, sympathizers...and does not allow itself to ever forget this. It is an autonomous non-profit space that offers a safe haven for alternative, underground, non-commercial activities, based on the principles of equality, freedom and anti-conformity.

In a time were independent centres are under attack all over Europe, we feel it's important to support those places that are still firmly ours...as well as those that are actively being targeted by our enemies."

Well I strongly support the above sentiment (and might(!) have even written the above statement when I still lived in Amsterdam and volunteered there.... ;) ) so am happy to be able to help out by selling this DVD. The full £10 will be donated to the OCCII to help pay for renovation works, so do your bid and get this now. Over 50 (!!!) bands shot live at the OCCII by Darby Thrash, as well as older footage and a backstage interview with MDC from many moons ago.....

"2nd 7" from these Japanese noise miscreants, and it picks up right where the first left off. These guys are right up there with Lotus Fucker and Chaos Destroy as far as bands pushing the NOISE angle to its logical, ear-bleeding limits. This is actually a one-sided, color vinyl 7" featuring one Disarm cover and one song heavily inspired by Disarm. If you hate music and all it stands for, bite the bullet and buy this little beast of a 7"."

"These nine tracks by Finland's BAD JESUS EXPERIENCE are a solid and great update of the raw, garage-ier edge of early Finnish hardcore punk combined with current European tendency towards melody. Think GORILLA ANGREB, but with more of a reliance on the blunt slugfest nature of Finnish punk (e.g. IKBAL label, proto-hardcore-era). The female vocals teeter between melodic singing and outright screams, sung entirely in Finnish, with little clue or translation of the lyrics, captured in a relatively clean, but in no way "modern" recording that does not detracts from its impact. Not over-the-top trash; more mid-tempo, rage tempered with hints of melody. Recommended and ace! - MRR #330